Chimney-cleaner.



No. 764,265- PATENTED JULY 5, 1904 M. WENSAUER.

CHIMNEY CLEANER.

APPLIOA'I'ION FILED JUNE 16. 1903.

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UNITED STATES Patented July 5, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

MAX VVENSAUER, OF SHEBOYG-AN, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR OF 'lTVVO-THIRDS TO JOHN MAERSCH AND FRANK P. MAERSGH, OF SHEBOYG-AN, 1V IS- CONSIN.

CHIMNEY-CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 764,265, dated July 5, 1904.

Application filed June 16. 1903.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, MAX VVENsAUER. a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at Sheboygan, in the county of Sheboygan and State of'VVisconsin, have invented a new and useful Chimney-Cleaner, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices employed for cleaning chimneys, and has for its object to provide a simply-constructed and easily applied and operated device whereby the interior of the chimney may be readily scraped or brushed and the detached soot and ashes removed without interfering with the ordinary uses of the chimney.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter shown and described, and

specified in the claims.

In the drawings illustrative of the invention, in which corresponding parts are denoted by like designating characters, Figure l is a sectional elevation of a chimney with the device applied. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view of one of the hood-supporting brackets. Fig. f is a detached perspective view of the lower shaft-supporting frame.

The improved device may be applied to any form or size of chimney or other smoke-conducting flue, but is more especially applicable to ordinary chimneys, and for the purpose of illustration is shown thus applied, representing the chimney, of ordinary construction, with an aperture at the base for the reception of the usual soot and ashes receptacle 12.

The Stovepipe-apertures will be located as usual; but as these form no part of the present invention they are not illustrated.

The parts forming the floors and roof are likewise not shown for the same reason.

The cleaner mechanism consists of an open frame 16, conforming to but smaller than the interior outline of the chimney, as shown. This frame will usually be a band of iron or steel with the ends riveted or bolted and will be provided with reversely disposed and oppositely-extendingbails 17 18 connected thereto, as shown. Disposed above two of the op- Serial No. 161,733. (No model.)

posite sides 'of the frame are scraper members 19 20, and. similarly disposed below the two remaining opposite sides of the frame are like scraper members 21 22. The scrapcr-members 19 20 are connected, respectively, to the frame by spaced resilient arms or straps 23 24, while the scraper members 21 22 are similarly connected to'the frame by like resilient arms or straps 25 26. The resilient straps thus serve as springs to maintain the scraper members in yieldable engagement with all four of the interior walls of the chimney, so that as the device is moved upward and downward within the chimney all parts of the interior will be thoroughly scraped, the soot and ashes thus detached falling into the receptacle 12, by which it may be removed from the chimney. By this simple construction it is obvious that the frame and scrapermembers may be readily adapted to any form or size of chimney by merely enlarging or decreasing the size of the frame 16 and increasing the lengths of the scraper members.

The means employed for moving the cleaner mechanism within the chimney consists of two pulleys mounted for rotation one above the chimney and the other at or near its base and connecting the bails 17 18 by a chain or cable passing over the pulleys and providing means for rotating one or both of the pulleys on the shafts on which they are mounted. The lower shaft is represented at 27 and is mounted for rotation in a frame formed of a vertical portion 28 and an inclined portion 29, the portion 28 having lateral projections 30 and the portion 29 having like lateral projections 31. The parts forming this frame are preferably integral and will be,of relatively light steel or iron and when constructed in the form may be readily distended to adapt it to different sizes of chimneys, as will be obvious. The shaft 27 will extend by one end through the aperture for the pan 12 and will be provided e'xteriorly of the chimney with means for the attachment of an operating-handle 32. The shaft 27 is provided with an adjustable collar 33, having a set-screw 34, by which the member 28 may be held against inward movement. By this arrangement it will be obvious that when the frame 28 29 is placed in position and forcibly spread apart, with the portions 30 31 in engagement with the opposite interior walls of the chimney, the members 30 31 may be held in adjusted position by the collar 33 upon the shaft. The lower cable-pulley is mounted upon the shaft 27 and partakes of its motion and is formed in two parts 35 36, each with one-half the chain or cable groove and each with its own hub sufficiently extended to afford an adequate bearing upon the shaft to which they are secured, as by set-screws 37 38, as shown. The shaft of the upper pulley is represented at 39 and is threaded at the ends and provided with clamp-nuts 10 41, as shown. The shaft 39 is supported in standards &2 43 and held by the nuts 10 41, the lower ends of the standards having oppositely-disposed ofisets 44c 45, resting upon and extending over the opposite edges of the chimney-top, as shown. By means of these nuts the distance between the standards may be regulated to enable them to be adapted to and clamped firmly upon different-sized chimneys, as will be obvious. The upper chain or cable pulley is represented at 16 and is free to rotate upon the shaft 39. The upper ends of the standards 42 4:3 extend above the shaft 39 and are provided with projecting lugs 47 4:8, and supported upon the outer ends of the shaft 39, and also upon the lugs by apertures therethrough, are supporting-arms 49 50, the upper ends of the arms extending inwardly and longitudinally slotted, as at 51, and supporting a cover or shield 53 by bolts 54 55 engaging the slots, as shown. By this simple arrangement the cover or shield may be firmly supported above the standards and shaft and pulley, with its supporting means adjustable with the brackets which support the upper shaft.

Scraper members formed of resilient material are preferably used, but other devices may be substituted therefor, if preferred; but this would not be a departure from the principle of the invention, as the same results would be secured thereby and the operation would likewise be the same.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. A chimney-cleaner comprising an open frame smaller than the interior of the chimney in which it is to be applied, and having scraper members yieldably connected with the frame at two opposite sides, and scraper members yieldably connected with the frame on the remaining two opposite sides, said pairs of scraper members being arranged in planes above and below the frame to provide for the free expansion and contraction of said member without danger of contact with each other. i

2. In a chimney-cleaner, brackets or standards adapted for engagement with the opposite sides of the chimney, a shaft having threaded ends engaging said brackets and provided with clamp-nuts whereby the brackets may be adjusted relative to width of said chimney, a cable-pulley mounted for rotation upon said shaft, a scraper mechanism operative within the chimney, a cable connected to said scraper and passing over said pulley, and means for moving said scraper means longitudinally of said chimney, whereby said cleaner mechanism may be adjustably supported upon said chimney, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

MAX WENSAUER.

Witnesses:

I. M. SoHILDER, OTTO KooH. 

